All the latest Giants news from MLB.com beat writer Chris Haft.

Ups, downs of signing Tejada

Tuesday, Nov. 30

Looking strictly at intangibles, the Giants couldn’t have signed a better replacement for Juan Uribe than Miguel Tejada.

Tejada is renowned for his effervescent attitude. He’s said to be ceaselessly positive — which must be genuine, considering all those years he spent playing for the downtrodden Orioles after repeatedly experiencing the postseason rush with the A’s. He’ll fit nicely with the Giants. They’ll miss Uribe — the White Sox did after he left that club — but they’ll adjust.

If I were a member of the Giants’ front office, I’d be more concerned with Tejada’s 74-point drop in slugging percentage from 2009 to this year’s .381. Having spent 14 years in the big leagues at age 36, Tejada’s unlikely to rebound. This increases the importance of Pablo Sandoval’s return to form and Brandon Belt’s ability to contribute. They can do much to compensate for the loss of Uribe’s 24 home runs and 85 RBIs. Because it’s doubtful that Tejada can accomplish this on his own.

Yet don’t blame the Giants for balking at giving Uribe the same three-year deal that he received from L.A. If he stays healthy and productive for the duration of the contract, I’ll be pleasantly surprised. As spry as he was, he performed through numerous aches and pains with the Giants. Such nagging injuries often become worse as players grow older.

Uribe’s a heck of a clutch performer, as he proved constantly for San Francisco throughout the regular-season and postseason. That’s what the Giants might miss most from him in the long run. Let’s see how many big opportunities he receives as a Dodger.

— Chris Haft

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2 Comments

Jeez, I hope & pray that the Giants made the right decision letting go of Uribe. He is very quick with recovering the ball. I think it would have been better if Sandoval was the one to let go. He haven’t made much contribution to benefit the team lately. With Tejada being 36 yrs old, will he be as active as Uribe? My heart dropped on the floor when I found out Uribe is going to play with our arch-rival Dodgers. Any other team would have been ok.

I cannot disagree with you more. While I hate to lose Uribe, (Loved how clutch he was and how many times he came through for us down the stretch) we cannot base our future on the past. There was no way that we could sign Uribe for a 3 year deal like the Dodgers did. And to say we should have let go of Sandoval is blasphemy. First off you have to look at the age difference. Remember, it was not more than just a year ago that Sandoval was the young face in our franchise. He can hit. We’ve seen him do it. And to say that because he had one off year that we should just let him go is ridiculous. He needs to be given the chance to perform the way he did in his rookie season. Can you imagine if we had a lineup with Torres, Sanchez, Huff, Posey, and Sandoval from his rookie season? We would be more than ok, and we have to hope that he can come through for us.

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